Redemption Tour
Little Rock, Arkansas, United States | SELF
Music
Press
It was in June 2006 that Kenya native Esther Nkatha Gatuma got a disturbing e-mail from a friend back home.
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This article was published August 15, 2010 at 5:16 a.m.
Style, Pages 49 on 08/15/2010
- Democrate Gazzete
Friday, November 19th on the Oprah show, Oprah is showing her ultimate favorite things and honoring heroes. One of those heroes is a woman who lives in Little Rock. Heather Crawford has her inspirational story.
Inspired by a guest on an Oprah show in 2004 who was helping females in Africa, Esther Gatuma felt compelled to do something. Being a musician and well educated she knew girls in her native country of Kenya looked up to her and with her father's support she took action.
She started a grassroots humanitarian organization last year from her home in Little Rock called Woman of Paradise. Her mission is to empower young girls and women, and put an end to a practice banned in Kenya that is still very common. It's a practice that can endanger their lives.
Ester Gatuma says, "My goal and passion with this organization is to end female genital mutilation in all the cultures that enable it, and by that I mean we are going to be focusing very much in establishing women in entrepreneurship to build the self-esteem of their daughters so they can stop these self genital mutilation."
In Africa The World Health Organization says about 92 million girls age ten and above are estimated to have undergone procedures that intentionally alter or injure their genital organs for non-medical reasons. It's often a cultural rite of passage and child brides, some as young as eight, can be sold for more to older men if they have undergone female genital mutilation.
Gatuma says, "We formed the organization in April and it has been a journey that is amazing, incredible. We've had like a 100% percent where girls literally call me on the little talk radio I do once in awhile telling me that they've changed their minds. That they are not going to self mutilate themselves that they feel beautiful and whole."
Esther will be featured on the Oprah show Friday, November 14th at 4pm on KATV and will then join us live during our 5pm newscast to talk about something Oprah has given her that will help change even more lives.
You can learn more about Esther's organization by visiting www.womanofparadise.org
- ABC News Affiliate Arkansas
Discography
Krystaal's Singles; Hakuna, Agnus Dei, Keep On Standing
Esther's singles; Great Day, Jesus you are the one, When you Dance
Photos
Bio
Redemption tour Artists are global humanitarians lead by the scripture in the book of James 1:27 which says that; religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Each of the artists in the band has encountered some of the most needy children of God accros the world. Krystaal is an award winning, multi-talented group of three brothers who excel in various genres of music including R&B/Pop, Gospel, Urban and World (African). They are characterized by their tight vocal harmonies and an ability to fit any audience anywhere in the world.
In 2004, their album “Keep On Standing” was honored with several awards and nominations including four gospel music MAJA Awards including Artist of the Year, Group of the Year, Album of the Year and Canadian National Song of the Year ; two Canadian Gospel Music Association awards for "Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year" and "Best Urban Song"; and four nominations by Canadian gospel music's peoples' choice VIBE Awards.
In January of 2005, Krystaal was honored to perform with Grammy nominated “Fresh IE” for the CBC's “ Canada for Asia ” telethon, raising funds for victims of the tsunami that devastated the Asian coast late in December 2004. Also appearing on the program were Tom Cochrane, Céline Dion, Anne Murray, Oscar Peterson, RUSH, Bryan Adams, Jann Arden, Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Daniel Lanois, Sloan and many other great Canadian musicians. World Vision reported that they had the highest spike in phone calls and donations immediately after the Fresh IE/Krystaal performance and Bryan Adams told them that he felt it was the best performance of the entire evening.
In 2005, Krystaal performed in Tanzania Africa before over 100,000 people, a truly amazing experience for the group. Soon after, Krystaal toured Belgium , France and England where they were greeted with tremendous responses. In Birmingham England they performed at the Baptist World Congress before 14,000 people from 117 different countries where former President Jimmy Carter was the keynote speaker.
The group's founders, brothers Michel, Fabian and Aliston Lwamba, came to Canada from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) having experienced many trials and hardships under a corrupt dictatorship. In 1989, after the Lubumbashi student massacre in Zaire , the Lwambas were separated from each other, living in refugee camps for over five years, leaving many of their relatives for dead. They survived violence, disease, depression and hunger before Michel and Aliston were sponsored and given the opportunity to migrate to Canada , assuming that their brother Fabian had been killed. Fabian was later miraculously reunited with his brothers and other family members in Saskatoon Saskatchewan in 1997. A book entitled "Keep On Standing - The Story of Krystaal" chronicles their amazing journey.
Esther is a young woman who has survived thriving in a culture where girls are never allowed opportunities. These girls are mutilated and sold as brides every 10 seconds according to NPR world news. Jentar's background exposed her to suffering children that had been abandoned and orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Africa. The tour was born to support the cause that rescues mutilated and trafficked childbrides. In the month of November 2010 Esther Gatuma who is the main champion of the cause was honored by Oprah Winfrey and rewarded with the Ultimated favourite things for rescuing and rehabilitaling hundreds of child brides in Kenya. Proceeds from the tour have rescued hundreds of girls especialy in the month of December 2010 when the media reported that girls were seeking refuge in the forest. Dana Davin's best selling book called Living Isaiah 30:18 has been a very powerful work book for rescued child brides. The book has been a blessing in bringing hope and healing to these children after suffering some years of abuse.
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